


Not your Typical Ariel

by nightlight9



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Mer!Derek, Mermaids, The Hales are Alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-18
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-08-27 07:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8392012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightlight9/pseuds/nightlight9
Summary: Derek knows going to the surface can be dangerous for merpeople. He knows that humans can be dangerous. But there's something about the boy on the beach that Derek can't forget, something about him that's enticing. And Derek wants to learn more.





	

Derek feels sick. He shouldn’t be doing this; he knows that he should just leave it alone. But the sad boy on the beach might just be worth it.

It started with an offhanded insult and no fear. Aside from hanging around with the dolphins or following Laura around as she goes through her duties as future alpha, the cove right on the edge of the beach is Derek’s favorite place to be. Hidden inside are hundreds of books from all over the world, left as offerings from those who still believe in appeasing Poseidon, god of the sea. 

Poseidon himself has long stepped down from the throne, but the humans don’t need to know that. Let them have their myths of tireless and all-powerful gods, and let Poseidon live out retirement in peace. Derek just likes using his library as an escape from the hustle and bustle of the pack.

He had been on his way there for a much-needed break from his young cousins. Like always, Derek waited just below the water’s surface, listening to hear if the coast was clear. Silence was the only thing that greeted him, so he swam closer, pleased to have time alone. 

The sad boy sitting on Derek’s favorite perch took him by surprise. His head was buried in his arms and he was making off-putting noises that Derek initially mistook as the scuttle of a beach crustacean. Before he could dive back in the water and swim home though, the boy looked up with red rimmed eyes that looked hollow almost. 

He sniffed at Derek and said, “If you’re here to lure me into the water, good luck. You can’t drown someone who’s already at the point of desperation.”

Derek had blinked at the boy for a long minute, not knowing how to respond. From what he had heard about how humans reacted to a merperson reveal, he never expected a reaction so bland. Then the indignation came.

“I do not drown people,” he spat without thinking about it.

The boy’s eyes widened in surprise, the scent of sadness coloring into warm intrigue. And then Derek narrowed his eyes, dove back into the water, and swam away. In retrospect, it makes sense that the boy would think that all merpeople went to the surface to lure humans into drowning. Derek’s read the stories, and Uncle Peter had bragged about how easy it was to get a human into the water. But it was an outdated practice, one that Poseidon himself looked down upon. Derek’s mother outlawed the practice when she took the alpha position. And even if it was allowed, Derek’s stomach turned at the thought of being so cruel. 

He should have left it alone, should have put the boy out of his head. But the reaction was so odd, and he had seemed so sad. That’s why he’s here again, swimming closer to the shore, fealing sick but still hoping that the sad boy is there. He can hear a heartbeat as he gets closer, but where it had been defeated yesterday, the pulse is racing. When he peeks above the water, the boy is sitting on his stone, humming to himself. Immediately, their gazes meet. 

“You’re back,” the boy exclaims, sounding pleased. “I wasn’t sure you’d be back after I basically insulted you yesterday, but I’m glad you’re here. I’ve never met a mermaid before.”

Derek huffs and swims closer. “That term doesn’t really apply to me,” he says in greeting.

The boy’s nose wrinkles. “Oh, right. Merman? Merdude? Mersir?”

His confusion makes Derek laugh. He stops a few meters away from the boy and tilts his head. “You can call me Derek.”

When the boy smiles, Derek is taken off guard by how bright his eyes are. Unlike some merpeople (his younger sister for example), he’s never really been charmed by shiny objects. But the light in the boy’s eyes is captivating. “And you can call me Stiles.”

Derek tests the name on his tongue, enjoying the way that the boy – Stiles – flushes when he says it. “You’re a human,” he states, curiosity coloring his tone. “But you weren’t very surprised to see me.”

Stiles shrugs. “After you’ve lived through everything I have and met all the creatures I have, you stop being surprised. I’ve never met a mer-. I’ve never met a Derek before though.”

He swims a little closer. “And I’ve never met a Stiles.” He tilts his head. “Or really any human. You’re not what I expected.”

The boy laughs with his whole body. “Well, I’m not sure that I’m the best representative of my race, but I can promise I’m a 100% pure human being at your service.” He scoots closer to the rock’s edge, his feet (human feet!) dipping below the ocean’s surface. “I have so many questions, dude. What’s it like living in the ocean? What do you eat? How is it you can understand me? Is Poseidon real?”

Derek scoffs at the last question. “Poseidon is very real, and he would be insulted at your lack of faith in him. You humans have it wrong though, he’s not really in charge of the sea anymore. My mom took over decades ago so that he could have a break. Being god of the sea is a tough job. And I know all different languages. Language is easy to understand; I don’t know how you humans spend your whole lives only knowing one or two.”

“Oh my God.” Stiles sounds awed and intrigued. “You’re being serious. This is the coolest thing.”

“I have questions too, you know. What is a big mac and why do you humans like it so much? What does snow feel like, and what is ice skating? Oh, and why were you so sad yesterday.”

He flinches at the last question, then scratches at the back of his head. “Oh, um. Yesterday was the anniversary of my mom’s death. She-. She really loved the beach, so I thought coming here would be a good way to remember her.” Stiles clears his throat. “But uh, about that other stuff. I’ll answer your questions if you answer mine.”

Derek smiles, pleased, and swims close enough to hoist himself up onto the rock beside Stiles. The human boy exhales sharply when Derek’s tail is exposed. The attention makes Derek uneasy; he wishes that he could cover the dark scales up, wishes not for the first time that his tail had the vibrant coloring of his sister’s. But Stiles doesn’t seem appalled by the dark blue and black colors. In fact, the way his eyes shine and his scent warms, Derek would guess that he thinks his tail is nice. Beautiful even. He ducks his head to hide his blush and swishes his tail in the water, glad that he took a chance and came back.

\----------

Hanging around with Stiles turns out to be like nothing Derek’s ever experienced before. The human is alive in a way that’s shocking, and if Derek thought the seals had a lot of energy, they have nothing on Stiles. He bounces around from topic to topic when they talk, throws his head back in laughter when Derek says something funny, and he never stops moving, even when they just sit beside one another to read. 

But perhaps the most shocking thing about Stiles is the way that he swims. His limbs seem to go in every direction at once, flailing in the water at every angle. It reminds Derek of an octopus or a squid, but he doesn’t think Stiles would like that comparison so he keeps his mouth shut (though he doesn’t know why; he’s known quite a few squids that are very pleasant, and the only thing wrong with the octopi is their affinity for hugs).

More than anything, Derek finds himself wanting to get closer to Stiles. He hates when he has to leave each day, hates watching Stiles walk across the beach without being able to follow him. It makes him remember how his sister saved a sailor and almost gave up everything for him. Laura was on patrol one day when she came across an accident. A human ship had caught fire and was sinking. Smaller boats were fighting to get away from the wreckage, but one of the men fell overboard. She could have left him alone, but that isn’t Laura’s nature. She has the drive to protect and provide (that comes with being the first in line to take over the alpha position when their mother steps down), so she saved him. The man was so grateful, claimed to love her and to want to live out his life with her. She considered giving up her position for a few weeks until she realized that she didn’t want to give up her life in the sea, and that she didn’t know anything about the human she’d saved anyway. 

Stiles had laughed when Derek told him this tale, called Laura a “badass Ariel” (which Derek didn’t understand), and then refused to explain why he thought it was so funny. Derek didn’t understand Laura’s infatuation at the time. He didn’t know anything about love, didn’t care much for those stories (except his parents’ because that was True Love™). But now he’s starting to understand. He thinks he could get to that point with Stiles, is already getting to that point. But it doesn’t scare him, not really. It excites him, makes him want more.

He doesn’t think Stiles feels the same until the day the human blurts out, “Sometimes I really want to kiss you.” They’re out for a swim, had been splashing each other and laughing, and the declaration makes Derek freeze. Stiles rushes to explain. “Like, I’m sure you get that all the time because you’re so handsome and nice, and I’m sorry if that makes it weird. I hope it doesn’t, because I really like spending time with you, it’s kind of the highlight of my life, and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but I also want you to know that I think you’re great and funny and-.”

Derek reaches out shaking fingers to touch Stiles’ cheek. “Stiles,” he says, amazed when the human shivers. “You can, if you’d like. I would-. I would like you to.”

This time it’s Stiles that freezes, but only for a few seconds. Then he swims closer, puts on hand on Derek’s neck, and draws them together. “You’re beautiful,” he whispers into Derek’s mouth when they part. “So beautiful.” Derek pulls him back in for another kiss.

\---------

Later, Derek learns that his tail changes colors when Stiles runs his fingers over the scales.

\----------

His mother isn’t surprised when he talks to her about the boy from the surface. Instead she just smiles softly, and reminds him how human his father was, how there’s nothing with wrong with finding love in an unexpected place. Laura teases him and demands to meet this “human that took my brother’s cynical heart,” and Cora just rolls her eyes and demands that he take her play with the eels. His father pats his hair and assures him that nothing, not even the space between species, could keep love apart, pointing at himself as an example of the magic in the world.

Armed with well wishes from his family, the promise to visit soon, and the knowledge of how to trade his tail in for human feet (not permanently; the sea will always be his home and he would like to bring Stiles there one day, just like his mother brought his father to the sea), Derek swims to the surface. After all, he knows that the bright boy waiting for him on the beach is worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> This was done for SterekWeek2016 on Tumblr. Day three's theme was myths, legends, fairytales and folklore.


End file.
